Combined fan and score-card.



PATENTED JAN. 9, 1906.

W. STEEL. COMBINED FAN AND SCORE CARD.

APPLICATION FILED JAN.12,1905.

2 SHEETS-SHBBT 1.

s M W 5 v Witnesses Httomegs COMBINED FAN AND SCORE CARD APPLICATIONFILED JAN.12, 100s.

Witnesses L55 PATENTBD JAN. 9, 1906.

2 SEBETS-EHBBT 2.

UNITED snares PATENT OFFICE.

COMBINED FAN AND SCORE-CARD.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 9, 1906.

Application filed January 12, 1905. Serial No. 240,810.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILL STEEL, a citizen of the United States, residingat TeXarkana, in the county of Miller and. State of Arkansas, haveinvented a new and useful Combined Fan and Score Card, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention relates to a combined fan and score-card, and has for itsobject to provide a simple, inexpensive, and efficient device of thischaracter particularly designed for use by persons attending baseballgames and the like and which will serve the dual purpose of a fan andscore-card, whereby the several points made by the opposing teams duringthe progress of the game may be conveniently registered and an accurateaccount kept thereof.

A further object of the invention is to provide a score-card by means ofwhich a person may ascertain at any stage of the game the exact numberof runs made by each team, the particular player at the bat, the numberof balls and strikes called on the batsman, the particular inning beingplayed, and the number of men out on the home or visiting team,according to which team is at the bat.

A further object is to provide means for locking the indicating-arm orpointer against rotation during the first half of one inning or when thevisiting team is at the bat and means for automatically returning theactuating-wheel of said arm to operative position when the first half ofsaid inning has been played and three outs have been registered againstthe visiting team on the dial.

A still further object of the invention is to provide means forresetting the ball and strike indicating dials when the man at the batmakes a base hit, strikes out, or gets a base on balls.

With these and other objects in view the invention consists in theconstruction and novel combination and arrangement of parts hereinafterfully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and pointedout in the claims hereto appended, it being understood that variouschanges in form, proportion, and minor details of construction may beresorted to without departing from the principle or sacrificing any ofthe advantages of the invention.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification,Figure 1 is a front elevation of a combined fan and score-cardconstructed in accordance with my invention.

Fig. 2 is a rear elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is a longitudinalsectional view showing the interior mechanism. Fig. 4 is a transversesectional view. Fig. 5 is a detail perspective view of a portion of thereleasing mechanism for the ball and strike dials. Fig. 6 is a similarview of one of the dial-actuating wheels and locking-pawls.

Similar numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in all thefigures of the drawings.

The device forming the subject-matter of the present invention consistsof a casing or housing, preferably in the form of a fan, as shown, andcomprising a pair of spaced plates 5 and 6, connected together in anysuitable manner and provided with a central vertically-disposedreinforcing-strip 7, upon which is mounted the registering mechanismhereinafter described. The fan or casing is provided with a hollowhandle 8, and formed in the front plate 5 of said fan or casing is amarginal row of openings 9, designed to receive the portraits of theseveral players on the home team, the particular position held by eachplayer being stamped, printed, or otherwise represented on the plateimmediately below his picture, as shown.

Mounted for rotation at the center of the plate 5 is an arrow or pointer10, operated through the medium of a system of gearing to indicate whichparticular player of the home team is at the bat during the progress ofthe game, while above the pointer are two segmental openings 11 and 1.2for displaying the number of balls and strikes registered against eachplayer during each half of said inning. Formed in the plate 5immediately below the pointer or arrow 10 are openings 13 and 14,through which is displayed the number of the innings being played andthe number of men put out by either team during the progress of one-halfof any particular inning. Arranged to one side of said openings are twoadditional openings 15 and 16 for determining the number of runs made byboth the home and visiting team during the progress of the game.

'1 he several openings above described may be arranged in any suitablemanner or order in the plate 5; but for sake of convenience I prefer tohave them arranged in the manner shown.

Mounted on the reinforcing-strip 7 at the top of the casing or fan aretoothed disks or wheels 17 and 18, each provided with a seg- TIC mentalplate 19, upon which are stamped or otherwise printed a series ofnumbers representing balls and strikes, respectively, the disk or wheel17 being preferably provided with four peripheral teeth and actuated tosuccessively display the numerals at the opening 11 in the casingthrough the medium of a rod 20, while the disk 18 is provided with threeteeth and actuated by means of a similar rod 21. The rods 20 and 21extend through openings in a transverse partition 22 in the hollowhandle of the fan and are pivotally connected to bell-crank levers 23,which latter are in turn pivoted to pushbuttons 24 and 24, slidablymounted in suitable openings at opposite sides of the hollow handle 8and preferably near the upper end of the latter, as shown.

Secured to the rods 20 and 21 are collars 25, and interposed betweensaid collars and the partition 22 are springs 26, the functions of whichare to return the rods to their normal position after being elevated toturn the disks by pressing inwardly on the buttons 24 and 24.

The disks 17 and 18 are free to turn on stationary stub-shafts 27, thelatter being provided with laterally-extending spring-pawls 28, adaptedto engage a series of ratchetteeth 29, formed in the face of the disks,so as to prevent backward movement of the same. Connected to each diskis a coilspring 30, the normal tendency of which is to return the disksto the position shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings when the pawl-releasingrod, hereinafter referred to, is released.

Mounted for rotation on stub shafts 31 at points adjacent the upper endof the handle 8 are toothed wheels 32 and 33, each provided with asuitable dial 34 for registering the number of runs made by the home andvisiting teams and displaying the same at the openings 15 and 16 in thefront plate of the fan or casing. The wheels 32 and 33 are provided withspringpawls 35, similar in con struction to the pawls 28 and whichengage ratchet-teeth 36, formed in the face of the wheels to preventbackward movement of the same, said wheels being rotated by longitudinalrods 37, terminating in push-buttons 38 and 39, disposed at the bottomof the handle, as shown.

Journaled on a stub-shaft 40 above the toothed wheel 32 is a toothedwheel 41, and connected to the latter by a collar 42 is a dial 43 forindicating at the opening 14 in the fan the number of men put out duringeither half of the inning being played. The wheel 41 has preferably sixperipheral teeth, as shown, and interposed between said wheel and thedial 43 is a second wheel or disk 44, provided with two transfer-teeth45, so that when the wheel 41 is rotated the distance of three teeth,corresponding to three men put out during one-half of any particularinning, one of the transfer-teeth 45 will engage a tooth on theinnings-wheel 46 and cause the dial 47 of the latter to display a numberat the opening 14, corresponding to the last half of one inning ,or thefirst half of the n ext, as the case may be. The central portion of theinnings-dial 47 is preferably formed of some transparent material, suchas isinglass, to permit the numerals on the dial 48 to be readily seenthrough the opening 13 in the front plate of the fan.

A rod 49, provided with a terminal pushbutton 50, extends longitudinallyof the handle 8, said rod being provided with an intermediate branch rod51, which engages the teeth on the wheel 41 when the button is depressedand serves to rotate the latter and in turn actuate the wheel 46. Thefree end of the rod 49 engages a toothed wheel 52, provided withoppositely-disposed peripheral lugs 53, which in turn engage thelaterallyprojecting arms 54 of a cam 55 at every half-revolution of thewheel 52, or, in other words, whenever the button 50' is pressed threetimes to register three men out. Socured to the shaft 56 of the cam is apointer or index 57, which moves over the face of the plate 6, and uponthe surface of the latter of which may be stamped or otherwise printedthe names of the home and visiting teams, as clearly shown in Fig. 2 ofthe drawings. will thus be seen that at every half-revolution of thewheel 52 the index 57 will shift its position and alternately point tothe home and visiting team, so that the person keeping the score maydetermine by a glance at the back of the fan which team is at the bat.

In order to determine the batting order of the respective players on thehome team, I provide a toothed wheel 58, keyed to a shaft 59, carryingthe arrow or index 10. This shaft is mounted on a spring-arm 60 and iscapable of slight lateral movement within a slot 61 in the plate 5. Acoil-spring 62 engages the arm 60 and normally holds the wheel inoperative engagement with a branch rod 63 of the pawl-releasing rod 64,so that when the rod 64 is operated it will rotate the wheel 58 andcause the arrow to indicate which particular player of the home team isat the bat. l/Vhen the visiting team is at the bat, however, and thewheel 52 starts to make the second half-revolution, the lug 53 of saidwheel will force the active face of the cam 55 into engagement with thespring arm 60, causing the shaft 59 to move laterally in the slot 61 andout of engagement with thebranch rod 63, thereby permitting theoperation of the registering mechanism without affecting the arrowduring each half-inning played by the visiting team. As the cam 55 isturned to move the wheel 58 to inoperative position the arrow or index57 at the back of the fan will of course be shifted to point in thedirection of the visiting team, as will be readily understood.

As a means for releasing the spring-pawls 28 of the disks 17 and 18 topermit the latter to return to normal position after a player has struckout, made a base hit, or gets a base on balls, I provide thereleasingrod 64. This rod extends longitudinally of the fan and isprovided at one end with a push-button 65, preferably arranged inhorizontal alinement with the buttons 24 and 24. The opposite end of therod 64 passes beneath the springpawls 28 and is provided with spacedteeth 66, which engage said pawls when the rod is moved longitudinallyand releases said pawls from the ratchet-teeth 29.

Pivoted to the free end of the rod 64 is a loop 67, which encircles therods 20 and 21, the latter being provided with stop-lugs 68, whichnormally bear against the top of said rods, as shown, while the loop isprovided with one or more transversely-disposed pins 69, adapted toengage the rods 20 and 21 and force the free ends of the latter out ofengagement with the peripheral teeth of the disks 17 and 18 when thebutton 65 is depressed. It will thus be seen by operating the" rod 64the spring-pawls 28 and operatingrods 20 and 21 are simultaneouslyreleased, thereby permitting the disks carrying the numbered segments toreturn to normal position.

The operation of the device will be readily understood and is asfollows: At the beginning of the game the inning-dial is rotated until 1shows at the opening 14 and zero at the opening 13, which indicates thatit is the first half of the first inning and no men are out, after whichthe arm or pointer at the rear of the fan is adjusted according to whichteam is at the bat. Suppose the first half of the ninth inning is beingplayed and I the home team or Yale is at the bat while -tered bypressing the button 24.

two men are out and the opposing teams have scored one and two runs,respectively,'as indicated in Fig. 1 of the drawings. Should the man atthe bat get three balls, they may be successively registered bydepressing the button 24, while any strikes that may be called by theumpire may likewise be regis- Should the batsman have three strikescalled on him, the release-button is depressed, thereby permitting theball and strike disks to return to normal position and at the same timecausing the arrow or index 10 to revolve and point to the next man atthe bat. As three men on the home team are out, this ends the first halfof the inning, and the movement of the rod 49 to register the third manout will cause the lugs 53 to rotate the cam, and thereby move the wheel58 to inoperative position while the visitors are at the bat, and at thesame time shift the arrow or index 57 to point to the visiting team onthe back of the fan. It will of course be understood that the arrow 57will be properly positioned before beginning the game and that eachsuccessive run made by both teams will be duly registered by pressingthe respective buttons controlling the same.

I/Vhile I have shown the names of the players printed on the face of thefan, in practice the names of the several players, together with therespective positions they occupy on the team, will be stamped orotherwise printed on the pictures or photographs, so that saidphotographs may be interchanged from time to time in accordance with thebatting order of the team.

The fan may be constructed of cardboard, wood veneer, celluloid, orother suitable material, and the pictures of the several players may beintroduced in the openings in thefront plate of the fan through suitableslots or in any other well-known manner.

From the foregoing it will be seen that I have provided a comparativelysimple and extremely convenient device by means of which patrons ofbase-ball games may keep an accurate account of the points in the gameand one which may also be utilized as a fan for keeping cool during theprogress of the game.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is 1. In agame-register, a casing provided with a plurality of display-openings, apointer movable over the face of the casing, registering-dials arrangedwithin said casing, means for actuating said dials for successivelydisplaying a numeral at said openings, a diallocking mechanism, andmeans for releasingsaid locking mechanism, said releasing mechanism alsoserving to rotate the pointer.

2. In a game-register, a casing provided witha plurality ofdisplay-openings, a pointer movable over the face of the casing,registering-dials arranged within said casing, means for actuating saiddials for successively displaying a'numeral at said openings, adiallocking mechanism, and means for releasing said locking mechanismand simultaneously rotating the pointer.

3. In a game-register, a casing provided with display-openings, apointer movable over the face of the casing, a plurality ofregistering-dials arranged within said casing, means for actuating saiddials for successively displaying a numeral at said openings, adial-locking mechanism, means for releasing said locking mechanism andsimultaneously rotating the pointer, and means for returning said dialsto their normal position.

4. In a game-register, a casing provided with display-openings, apointer movable over the face of the casing, registering-dials arrangedwithin the casing, means for actuating said dials for successivelydisplaying a numeral at said openings, a dial locking mechanism, meansfor releasing said locking mechanism and simultaneously rotating thepointer, and means for moving said pointer out of operable engagementwith the lockreleasing means.

5. In a game-register, a casing provided with display-openings, aplurality of dials carried by the casing, a pointer movable over theface of the casing, an index movable over the back of said casing, meansfor rotating the pointer and simultaneously actuating some of the dialsto successively display a numeral at said openings, and means foroperating one of said dials and rotating the index.

6. In a game-register, a casing provided with a handle and having dislayopenings formed therein, a plurality of ials arranged within thecasing, spring-pressed rods for actuating the dials to successivelydisplay a numeral at said openings, and push-buttons carried by thehandle of the casing and operatively connected to said spring-pressedrods.

7. In a game-register, a casing provided with a handle and having adisplay-opening formed therein, a plurality of registering dialsarranged within the casing, rods for independently actuating said dialsfor successively displaying a numeral at said openings, pushbuttonscarried by the handle, and le vers forming a pivotal connection betweenthe rods and the push-buttons.

8. In a game-register, a casing provided with a handle and havingdisplay-openings formed therein, a plurality of registeringdialsarranged within the casing, a perforated partition extendingtransversely across the handle, rods extending through the perforationsin the partition and engaging said dials for actuating the latter tosuccessively display a numeral at said openings, push-buttons carried bythe handle of the casing, levers forming a pivotal connection betweenthe rods and the push-buttons, and springs arranged on the rods andinterposed between the levers and said transverse partition.

9. In a game-register, a casing provided with a terminal handle andhaving a plurality of icture-receiving openings formed in one walthereof, there being a plurality of display-openings also formed in saidwall, a pointer movable over the surface of the easing withastep-by-step movement and adapted to register with thepicture-receiving openings, a plurality of registeringdials mounted inthe casing, means for actuating said dials for successively displaying anumeral at the display-openings, and means for rotating the pointer.

10. In a game-register, a casing provided with displayopenings, apointer movable over the face of the casing, an index movable over theback thereof, registering-dials carried by the casing, means foractuating said dials to successively display a numeral at said openings,means for locking said dials against backward movement, and meansforsimultaneously releasing the locking means and dial-actuating means topermit the dials to return to normal position, said releasing meansserving to rotate the pointer.

11. In a gameregister, a casing provided with display-openings,registering-dials arranged within the casing, spring-pressed rods foractuating said dials to successively display a numeral at said openings,means for locking said dials against backward movement, a toothed rodfor releasing the locking mechanism, and means pivoted to said toothedrod and engaging the actuating-rods for disengaging the latter from thedials.

12. In a game-register, a casing provided with display-openings,registering-dials arranged within the casi'ng, spring-pressed rodsprovided with stop-lugs for actuating said dials to successively displaya numeral at said openings, means for locking said dials againstbackward movement, a toothed rod for releasing said locking mechanism,and a loop pivoted to said toothed rod and engaging the stop-lugs on thespringrod for disengaging the latter from the actuating-dials.

13. In a game-register, a casing provided with displayopenings, apointer movable over the face of the casing, registering-dials arrangedwithin the casing, means for actuating the dials for successivelydisplaying a numeral at said openings, means for locking said dialsagainst backward movement, means for releasing said locking means andsimultaneously rotating the pointer with a step-by-step movement, andmeans for moving the pointer out of operative engagement with thelocking means.

14. In a game-register, a casing provided with displayopenings, apointer movable over the face of the casing, registering-dials arrangedwithin the casing, means for actuating the dials for successivelydisplaying a numeral at said openings, a bracket, a toothed wheeljournaled in the bracket and carrying the pointer, a rod for rotatingthe wheel with a step-by-step movement, a cam engaging the bracket, andmeans for rotating the cam to move the toothed wheel out of operativeengagement with said rod.

15. In a game-register, a casing provided with displayopenings, apointer movable over the face of the casing, a plurality ofregistering-dials arranged within said casing, one of which is providedwith transfer-teeth for engaging the teeth of the adjacent dial, meansfor operating said dials for successively displaying a numeral at saidopenings, means for locking all of said dials against backward movement,and means for releasing the locking means and simultaneously rotatingthe pointer.

16. In a game-register, a casing provided IOK 10 with an index movableover the back of the casing, and means for rotating the cam to therebymove the toothed wheel out of operative engagement with said rod.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto afiiXedmy signature 15 in the presence of two witnesses.

WILL STEEL. Witnesses:

RICHARD M. MANN, CHARLIE D. WINsETT.

